The current Ferrari driver, who previously drove for Red Bull until last year, and looked up to 48-year-old before joining the elite F1 drivers himself, spoke about Schumacher at the Race of Champions.

While the pair remained friends with the seven-time champion giving advice to the then up-and-coming youngster, they did manage to race against one another in F1 when the older German driver came out of retirement in 2010.

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Michael Schumacher (left) with Sebastian Vettel in 2012

The two Germans had first met when Vettel was starting out on his career, making his mark on the go-karting scene while Schumacher was already a world champion in F1.

The pair also partnered each other as part of Team Germany in the exhibition series Race of Champions (ROC), which saw the German pair dominate the event, winning it six years in a row between 2007 and 2012.

"We wish him still all the best, even though it has been a couple of years."

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Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher in 2012

He added: "We all miss him. Not just me for Team Germany, but all the drivers.

"He is always good company. Very difficult to beat on track, very difficult to beat off track.

"But luckily I was smart enough to pay attention when he was teaching lessons."

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Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel chat at the Race of Champions

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Michael Schumacher driving for Ferrari in 2008

The exact situation with Schumacher is uncertain with his family not giving updates regarding the state of his progress or health and his management team have stated the issue is “not a public matter” in the past.

In September last year though Schumacher’s lawyer Felix Damm told a German court that his client “cannot walk” after false reports emerged in the German publication Die Bunte saying that he could “walk a couple of steps”.